My idea of a perfect weekday morning: a leisurely breakfast while reading the paper at Myth Café (large coffee and a fat slice of banana “monkey” bread, please) followed by a decadent hours-long mani-pedi at the nearby Le Crème in Jackson Square. The reality? Me, hopping out of a cab, slightly waterlogged from the drizzle to scope out the spa and squeeze in a treatment before rushing back to the office for a meeting.

Ladies, if you’re in the mood to squeeze in a bit of pre-spring cleaning during your long weekend, start with your closets. If you’re anything like me, there’s a growing collection of barely worn formalwear—a veritable visual timeline of your wedding and gala-attending history collecting in some dark corner, just begging to be purged for the greater fashion good.

Guest blogger and fashion intern Sydney Pfaff is on duty to pick up the trend watch after Hayley’s kick-off of NY Fashion Week coverage on Tuesday. Here, Sydney’s top picks from the Fall 2008 ready-to-wear collections by a few of SF’s own.

Recently I was on a six-and-a-half hour cross-country plane ride sitting, in awe, next to a woman with a gorgeous new Louis Vuitton monogram handbag. It wasn’t the bag exactly that caught my eye (although it was a beauty). I was amazed that throughout the entire trip, the woman cradled the purse in her lap— careful not to sully its perfect leather—not once letting it touch the ground. I’ve never been that obsessed with a bag, although I’ve come admittedly close. Close enough, in fact, to consider buying something like this:

Local designers looking to get some exposure: now’s the time to send in your portfolios to Fashion on the Square. Held each summer in the plaza at Union Square, the annual event bills itself as the largest outdoor fashion show on the West Coast. (It’s also part industry fundraiser for the non-profit organization Fashion Group Foundation of San Francisco).

While getting myself to work on dark, rainy weekdays (with no option to retreat under the covers) is always a challenge, I usually look at the bright side: it’s a great excuse to shop for wet weather fashion. Recently I went on the mad hunt for the perfect pair of rain boots, which at this time of year wasn’t easy. Plenty of retailers around town have sold out for the season and have moved on to strappy sandals – not exactly ideal for days like these. I did, however, eventually land my dream boots at the Union Square Burberry store in the timeless Burberry plaid.

Two tips if you’re in the midst of planning your dream wedding: One, avoid taking your soon-to-be bridesmaids for a girls’ night out to see 27 Dresses starring Katherine Heigl in a frightening parade of prom-gone-wrong dresses.